He may be getting up in age, but Scott Parson is still a fixture in recent Bolder Boulder wheelchair division races.

On Monday, the 54-year-old athlete won his second straight Bolder Boulder wheelchair race with a time of 24 minutes, 29 seconds.

"It's a good feeling," Parson said. "I'm 54 now and I'm still able to keep up and do well. It's a sport where you can continue into your later years as long as you stay healthy and don't get injuries."

Parson held off Jacob Heilveil, who finished in 24:34, for the win. But it wasn't easy and he nearly paid a price.

Parson said he pulled away from Heilveil and created a decent gap around the fifth mile. But in order to do so, he accumulated too much speed and nearly crashed coming around a downhill corner. If not for a cut-out section of the curb, which allowed Parson to continue his turn onto the sidewalk momentarily, he would have plowed into the curb.

"Once somebody hooks onto you, you know they're pushing well and it becomes a tactical race," Parson said. "I tried to get away and I went into a turn going way too fast. I thought I was going to wreck but I saw the cut out and I went up onto the sidewalk and back into the street. He caught back up then. If that curb cutout hadn't have been there, I would have plowed right into it."

He competes whenever and wherever he can, but Parson said he enjoys the high-altitude challenge the Bolder Boulder presents.

"As long as they have a wheelchair division, I'll go to any race," said Parson, who trains at sea level in San Jose, Calif. "But this one, it's a test to see how fit you are. The altitude gets to me real quick. I found out today that you need to train in this to feel good."

Parson, who was an avid surfer, broke his back in a construction site accident on May 11, 1991. He was racing six months later. He has competed in the Bolder Boulder on and off since then.

Last year, Parson passed Aaron Pike, then the defending champion, on the final hill and finished first with a time of 24:15 to win his first title.

In the women's wheelchair race, 22-year-old Susannah Scaroni took first place after finishing a distant second to Christina Schwab in the 2012.

Scaroni, who is from Spokane, Wash., and is currently going to school in Champagne, Ill., said she was happy she was able to knock more than two minutes off last year's time to finish in 26:06.

"I felt good and strong the whole time, the weather was beautiful and the crowds were really awesome," Scaroni said. "I had a much faster time this year. Pushing is my favorite thing to do and I love the mountains so I love this race."

Scaroni was paralyzed in a car accident when she was 5-years-old and has been racing for the past 11 years. She has competed in the Bolder Boulder twice.

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